FAMILY POMPILIDAE

This page contains pictures and information about Orange Spider Wasps that we
found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.

Wasp body length 30mm

This wasp is large. Its head, legs and antenna are black and orange-yellow in colour,
thorax and eyes are in dark brown to black colour. Its wings are tinted in orange
brown colour, without black tips. There are the broad orange bands on its black abdomen.

In a Nov 2007 morning in Karawatha Forest, we saw this large orange spider
wasp was searching on a burnt fallen log. The wasp searched with its
slightly curved antenna and with the typical spider wasp wings-flicking
motions. Near a crack it sensed something, it then ducked down and
waited.

From time to time it put its antenna inside the crack and then resumed the
duck down waiting position. We watched for half an hour and nothing
happened. We thought the wasp might sensed a spider inside the crack and
tried to capture it.

The wasp did not too care about our watching. It flied to a few meters
away if we came too closely. When we moved away, it flied back to the crack
and kept waiting.

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Last updated: July 10, 2012.